Goodyear named psychologically healthy workplace

Goodyear said the association evaluated workplaces in five areas: employee involvement, employee growth and development, health and safety, employee recognition and work-life balance.

Goodyear's GoodLife Program was designed to help integrate all services, the Akron-based tire maker said, and to make sure all associates have access to programs to improve their quality of life. While the original goal was to decrease the quickly escalating health care cost burden, it quickly became much broader.

Goodyear said it started by hiring a Chief Health Officer. The GoodLife Program is designed to increase health in six components: physical, social, spiritual, emotional, environmental and mental. Additionally, as a result of Goodyear's “No One Gets Hurt” initiative, the company's incident/injury rate has dropped 28 percent. Employee satisfaction continues to improve, Goodyear said, with the most recent survey showing improvement in nine out of 12 categories. More than 10,000 of Goodyear's U.S. associates now know their biometric numbers, which can start them on a path toward healthier living.

A 2013 survey by the American Psychological Association (APA)'s Center for Organizational Excellence found that job-related stress is a serious issue, with more than one-third of working Americans reported experiencing chronic work stress and just 36 percent said their organizations provide sufficient resources to help them manage that stress.

This year's other winners were: Chillicothe and Ross County Public Library, Chillicothe, Dawson Careers, Columbus; and Grants Plus, Cleveland.

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